No Regret
by Vercingetorix1234
Summary: "My wish is to become closer to Elsa again." But that wish and Elsa's desire to keep her sister safe are not compatible. Modern AU.
1. My Wish

A/N: This story takes place before the Rebellion movie chronologically, but later chapters will have spoilers for the Rebellion movie, so make sure you watch that first.

* * *

As soon as she finished eating her cereal, Anna grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door, only stopping for a moment to call goodbye to her mother as she went, and pounded her feet against the pavement as she ran past row after row of the identical houses of suburbia. Finally, she caught up to Elsa and slowed to a walk, panting. The only indication her sister gave that she noticed Anna's arrival was a slight turn of her head as she glanced at Anna, before she looked forward again and avoided Anna's gaze.

Anna frowned slightly before forcing herself to smile again. These walks to the bus stop were some of the only chances she had to talk to her sister, and for that reason it was a bit of a game between them. Elsa would always make sure to leave before her sister so that they couldn't walk together, but she couldn't leave too early or else she would have to spend minutes waiting at the bus stop with Anna. For her part, Anna always did her best to wake up early so that she could leave at the same time as Elsa, even though she wasn't a morning person. Anna had managed to catch up to Elsa this time, and she couldn't waste the chance to attempt a conversation by letting herself get upset.

"So…nice weather we're having." Anna said as though they were having a normal conversation. Elsa would sometimes respond when they had no choice but to be in the same place, so long as the subject matter wasn't too personal.

Elsa gave a barely perceptible nod.

"It's not too bad." Elsa didn't avert her gaze from the fascinating sidewalk in front of her as she responded.

Anna nodded as well, feeling foolish when she remembered that Elsa wasn't looking. It was sad, really, that she actually felt like she'd accomplished something by getting that response. She and Elsa had been very close when they were children, but something changed. Elsa stopped playing with Anna, wouldn't let Anna into her room, and would avoid talking to her whenever possible. Until high school, Elsa had been homeschooled and Anna hadn't even been able to walk with her to the bus stop. But Elsa's frigidity had almost become worse, if that was possible, when their father died in a car accident three months before.

"That's good. How are your classes going?" Anna asked, wishing she had something better to talk about, but the truth was that she barely knew anything about her sister anymore.

"They're alright."

Anna snorted.

"Please. That won't work on me. I know you get straight As in everything."

Elsa looked down, but was unable to hide a small smile, and Anna smiled in turn. But by then they'd reached the bus stop at the street corner and the school bus was waiting with its doors open. Elsa didn't spare her sister a glance as she strode forward and sat in a two-seater in the back next to some stranger. There were no empty seats nearby. Anna ended up sitting in a three-seater in the front of the bus, alone. She held back a sigh as she stared out the window, the all-too-familiar scenery tinted grey by the glass as it whirled past. How long was her life going to be like this?

* * *

Anna slept through most of her morning classes and her legs guided her to the cafeteria, still only half-awake. She sat at her usual table with some other girls from her homeroom. She listened in on their conversation from time to time, but didn't contribute. They tolerated her presence, but never engaged her in conversation or seemed interested in anything she had to say. Even Anna's usual upbeat cheerfulness died in the face of utter apathy.

Still, it was better than nothing. It was the best she'd been able to do when they'd been forced to move right after their father died three months ago. They couldn't afford to keep the house on just their mother's income, and for some reason their mother seemed to think that moving out of the city would be a good idea. But at the new school, Anna had been so focused on grieving that she hadn't realized that she hadn't made any friends until it was too late.

As Anna munched on her banana and Nutella sandwich, she glanced across the cafeteria towards Elsa, who was sitting alone. Anna would rather be eating her lunch with her sister, but experience had taught her that if she tried, Elsa would find another table or, if there weren't any, simply leave the cafeteria.

Her sister was eating her own banana and Nutella sandwich, but even then she hadn't taken her gloves off. Anna could never have managed to do that without getting the gloves messy, but Elsa did it every day. The gloves were yet another mystery to Anna, but she was used to the curiosity by now, though it still gnawed at her. It had only been by observation that she'd even found out that Elsa also liked chocolate.

It was then that Anna heard a voice. It cut through the bustle of the cafeteria, resonating in her mind rather than her ears.

_If there's something you want, I can give it to you. All you need to do is make a contract with me and become a magical girl!_

Anna looked around for the source of the voice and nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw a strange creature on the table in front of her. It was like some kind of cross between a cat and rabbit, white with long ears, a fluffy tail, red eyes, and floating golden rings on its ears. Anna glanced at the rest of the girls at her table, but none of them seemed to notice it.

_What is that thing? And why can't anyone else seem to see it?_ Anna thought. She nearly jumped again when the answer sounded in her head.

_My name is Kyubey. I help girls with potential like you become magical girls. Only magical girls and girls with potential can see me._ Kyubey didn't blink as he stared at her. Anna took a deep breath to calm herself down and faced him.

_How can you hear my thoughts?_ Anna shifted in her seat, still unnerved by how no one else seemed to notice Kyubey.

_Don't worry, I can only hear thoughts that you direct at me. Now, do you want to become a magical girl?_

_What do you mean by magical girl?_

_Magical girls use their magic to fight wraiths and protect people. If you make a contract with me, you can become one, and in return you can have any one wish granted._ Kyubey's tail swished back and forth.

Anna tilted her head, curious. It was completely ridiculous, but if there was a chance…

_You can grant any wish?_

_That's right._

Anna's brow furrowed as she thought. She didn't know what she'd be getting herself into by making this contract, but it was tempting. She needed to think about it some more. One of Kyubey's ears turned, as though he was hearing something.

_There's no time. A group of wraiths is about to attack the school! Follow me!_ Kyubey jumped off the desk and ran towards the door, pausing to stare back at Anna before exiting.

_Wait! _

Anna got up and ran after him, drawing a few stares as she did. She didn't know what these wraiths were, but if they were dangerous and she could do something about them, then she had no choice but to follow Kyubey.

* * *

"Are those wraiths?"Anna asked, looking down at Kyubey.

At the bottom of the hill on the edge of the school grounds, fog was expanding, and within it were flickering, faceless, robed figures.

_Yes. They're born from people's negative feelings. If they're not stopped, they'll attack the school and many students could die._ Kyubey gazed into Anna's eyes. She shivered. _Anna, I don't know if any of the other magical girls in this area will be able to make it in time. If you contract with me, you can make a wish and save them._

Anna slowly nodded.

"Okay, I'll do it." Anna took a deep breath to steady her voice. She'd wanted more time to think, but the wish itself was obvious to her. It was the same thing she'd wished for all of these years, and now she finally had a chance of getting it. "My wish is to become closer to Elsa again."

_Wish granted. Your soul has successfully reduced net entropy_.

But Anna didn't hear anything. An intense pain clawed at her entire body, as though every nerve was on fire. But it only lasted for a few moments, and when she opened her eyes, an egg-shaped object shining with lavender light floated in front of her.

_That's your soul gem. Use that to transform into a magical girl and defeat the wraiths!_

Anna grabbed the soul gem, and when she did, she knew exactly how to activate it, as though by instinct. She held it out in front of her and it glowed. With a flash of light, Anna's clothes were replaced by a green dress with a lavender cloak. Her soul gem transformed into a lavender diamond set in a gold armband on her left arm. A spear appeared in her hand, its tip gleaming with sharpness. Anna hesitated, eying her spear warily. It was surprisingly light in her hand despite its obvious weight and size, but she didn't know if she would be able to use it.

_Go on. All magical girls know how to use their abilities by instinct. Anyway, you just need to hold them off until another magical girl gets here._

_Okay, here I go!_

Anna rushed forward into battle, brandishing her spear. This was all happening so quickly that she hadn't had a chance to think. Perhaps one day she would regret making her decision so rashly. But she knew she would never regret her wish. So Anna didn't hesitate as she fought. As long as that wish was granted, she could face any other hardship.


	2. Mahou Shoujo

_Okay, here I go!_

Anna ran forward, tripping and rolling down the hill as she took off much faster than she expected. She got up, slightly winded, but wasn't hurt or even bruised. "Ouch!"

_You're much stronger and faster now that you're a magical girl. Try to get used to it quickly._

Anna nodded and moved forward again, this time at what felt like a slow jog. Still, the distance between her and the wraiths disappeared faster than she expected and all too soon one was towering over her. Anna thrust her spear forward, surprised at how naturally it came to her as the spear pierced through the wraith's body. It shuddered and sparks ran along its sides before it disappeared with a puff of wind, leaving a small, black cube on the ground in its place.

_That's one down_. Anna thought, but now the rest of the wraiths were turning towards her, their faces twisting into menacing smiles.

Suddenly, thin, white beams of light shot from the places where their eyes should have been towards her. Anna jumped to the side, crashing into the hill as she once again used too much strength. Anna picked herself up and the next few minutes passed in a blur as she dodged beam after beam of light. She didn't have time to breathe, or even think, only to move on instinct as she sensed each attack coming.

Then a series of beams converged on her from all sides, blinding her. There was nowhere to go. If only Anna could reach the top of the hill somehow…When she opened her eyes, she was at the top of the hill, and the wraiths were still at the bottom, circling as though searching for her.

_I can teleport?_ She asked Kyubey, who was sitting a safe distance away from the battlefield.

_I wouldn't know. Each magical girl's abilities are unique to them. Try to sense your capabilities._

Anna did so, and was surprised by the depth of the information that she knew. She could sense precisely how far she could teleport each time. It wasn't far enough for travel, but it was good enough for combat. Anna smiled.

_Alright! I can do this!_

Anna teleported to the bottom of the hill, right above one of the wraiths, which she promptly speared. The rest of the wraiths turned on her and she teleported away again. She tried the same trick again, but now the wraiths seemed to have wised up somewhat. Only a few of them attacked her while she was further away to force her to teleport, and the rest waited until she teleported close by before attacking. Anna was forced to teleport again and again, spending only enough time to impale a wraith before jumping away again. But the next time she tried, she moved too slowly, barely dodging a streamer of light. She was only able to muffle her scream as the streamer cut into her right arm below her elbow.

Anna teleported back to the top of the hill and collapsed to her knees. She reached for the wound on her arm, but stopped before touching it. There was blood dripping from it, too much to tell how severe it was, though the pain had subsided a bit. Anna panted, but she didn't feel out of breath, exactly. It was more like each teleport took a toll on her, and she felt the strain somewhere. She glanced at her armband. Her soul gem, which had been bright before, was now a cloudy, dark lavender.

_Try not to overuse your magic. Your supply is limited, so you can't just keep teleporting over and over again._

Anna looked down at the bottom of the hill, where half a dozen wraiths still remained.

_I don't know if I can beat them_. Anna said, her heart sinking as it finally occurred to her what failure would mean. Those wraiths would attack the school, and Elsa was there too. Kyubey just licked his paw nonchalantly.

_Don't worry. Another magical girl will be here in just a moment. _

_What? Who-_

Anna stopped as bright flashes of light appeared in the corner of her eye. Another girl was fighting the demons. She had short, auburn hair and wore a silver and black dress with gold trim. She moved quickly, jumping and spinning gracefully to dodge the wraiths' attacks in stark contrast to the deadly swipes of her enormous scythe, which ripped through one wraith after the other. In just seconds, all of them were gone and bits of the fog curled away and dissipated until there was nothing was left of the wraiths except those black cubes. The girl flicked the scythe, which vanished, and turned towards Anna and waved at her. Anna waved back and teleported next to her.

* * *

"That was amazing!" Anna said as soon as she appeared. The girl shrugged, seemingly unfazed by the teleportation.

"No big deal. Killing wraiths is what magical girls do." She smiled at Anna. "Nice to see a new girl around here. I could definitely use the help, especially from one with teleportation. You must be pretty powerful." Anna blushed at the praise.

"No, I'm not that good. I barely knew what I was doing."

"In that case, how about I show you the ropes? What's your name?"

"I'm Anna. You want to help me? I'd really appreciate it."

"Sure, no problem. My name is Helen, by the way. First lesson of the day: your soul gem, you noticed it getting darker during the battle, right?" Anna glanced at it.

"Well, you can use these," and now Helen was holding up one of the black cubes left behind by the wraiths "to purify it. They're called grief cubes. Make sure you don't run out of magic. If you do, you die."

Anna stiffened, realizing how close she'd come to death already, and nodded.

"Good. Hold them close to your soul gem." Helen handed her a few more of the grief cubes, which Anna gratefully accepted. She brought them up to her soul gem, and was surprised to see them suck the darkness from it, returning it to previous luster. "Those are about used up now. Why don't you try feeding them to Kyubey?"

"He eats these things?" Anna glanced at Kyubey, who had walked down the hill to join them.

_I don't eat them. I collect them. The concentrated curses play a valuable role in combating entropy._

Helen laughed. "Kyubey never shuts up about entropy. Well, go on, try throwing them at him."

Anna hesitated, then tossed the cubes underhand to Kyubey, who jumped to catch them with his back. They were absorbed into the red oval on his back, which glowed briefly.

There was so much that was strange about what was happening that Anna didn't even know where to begin asking questions. She considered herself to be the kind of person who embraced change and even thrived on it, but she had to admit that this was a bit overwhelming.

Helen seemed to notice, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Hey, don't worry if this is all new to you. Every magical girl has to start somewhere, right? I'll take care of you. You'll be an ace wraith hunter in no time."

Anna felt the corners of her mouth turn up as she thanked Helen. She wasn't used to people trying to make her feel better. Her father had insisted on homeschooling her and Elsa up to eighth grade, and they hadn't had much opportunity to talk to other people their age. Anna had been so excited when she'd first started high school, but their father's death had made it hard to take advantage of it.

Was this what it was like to have a friend?

Helen shifted her gaze to look at something behind Anna. Anna turned around, and was surprised to see yet another magical girl. She had short, blonde pigtails and her costume consisted of a heavy gray and dark blue cloak. She carried an enormous battleax.

"Hey, Kristen. It's good to see you again." Helen said politely. Kristen ignored her, focusing her eyes on Anna.

"A new girl? This area doesn't have enough wraiths to support three of us." Kristen's expression was chilly, but Helen laughed it off.

"You take everything so seriously, Kristen. We'll just travel a bit farther when we hunt. There won't be any problems."

Kristen turned back to Helen, narrowing her eyes.

"What do you want with her anyway?"

Helen crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm just trying to help the new girl out. Why are you always so suspicious of me, anyway?"

"If you say so." Kristen turned around and jogged away.

"What's her problem? Did you kick her puppy or something?" Anna asked, still watching Kristen's back.

"Who knows? She's always sour for some reason. She doesn't seem to like me, no matter how much I try to be nice to her." Helen frowned. She looked a bit dejected, so Anna placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I think you're awesome!" Anna held Helen's gaze, and they exchanged smiles.

* * *

Anna sat on her bed, gritting her teeth as she applied disinfectant to her arm. Helen had said that magical girls healed faster than humans and didn't get sick. Still, Anna couldn't just leave the wound open for anyone to notice, and she didn't want to take any chances with an infection either. She'd have to wear long-sleeved shirts to hide the bandage from now on, as well as for any new wounds she got, which would be a pain since it was starting to get warmer.

"How did you get that?"

Anna jolted, not expecting to hear that voice directed toward her anytime soon, and turned to see Elsa staring at her with wide eyes. Or, to be more accurate, staring at her arm. Anna grimaced. Now that she'd wiped most of the blood away, it was obvious how large and deep the wound was.

"Oh, this? It's nothing, really." Anna turned away, but it was already too late.

"Don't play dumb, Anna. Did you think I wouldn't notice you leaving school early? What's going on?"

Anna twirled her hair nervously. She couldn't tell her the truth. Elsa would think she was crazy. She didn't have any idea what approach to take. It had been years since they'd talked this much. Elsa seemed to take the silence as refusal, narrowing her eyebrows.

"If you don't tell me, I'll tell our mother."

Anna opened her mouth to object, but was cut off by a voice in her head.

_There's no need for that. Anna made a contract with me and became a magical girl. She was wounded while fighting wraiths, the enemies of magical girls. If you want, you can become a magical girl too!_

Elsa gasped as she saw Kyubey sitting on the windowsill.

"What is _that_?" Elsa asked, pointing a trembling finger at him.

There was no choice now. Anna sighed.

"Calm down, Elsa. I'll explain everything."

Anna recounted the events of the day. Despite the situation, she felt surprisingly happy. She was talking to Elsa again, like she used to, and she wasn't being ignored. Her wish was coming true already.

Elsa stood in stunned silence as she took it all in. The only reaction she showed was a slight frown as Anna rushed through an explanation of her wish, embarrassed but not wanting to leave out such an important detail.

"And now I'm a magical girl, Elsa. I can protect people from those wraiths, like I did today. There's no point in telling Mom. There's no way she would believe in magic anyway."

Elsa frowned. "Anna, this isn't one of your stories. Magic is unnatural, and it's not safe. You got hurt today fighting those things, and you could get hurt again. If you won't stop being a magical girl, then you leave me with no choice."

"What gives you the right to tell me what to do? You haven't even had a real conversation with me in years!"

Elsa flinched, but Anna wasn't done, waving her arm angrily. "What have I ever done to you?! I had to make that stupid wish just to get you to talk to me!"

Elsa straightened her back and looked away, her face blank again. "Maybe I can't tell you what to do, but I can still talk to our mother."

_I wouldn't do that if I were you_. Kyubey said, seeming to finally take interest in the conversation again. _Magical girls need grief cubes to survive. If you don't let Anna fight wraiths, she will die._

Elsa's face lost what little color it had.

"See, Elsa? You can't stop me. I'm a magical girl now and there's nothing you can do about it." Anna crossed her arms.

Elsa hugged her arms and turned away, pacing back and forth across the room for a few minutes. Anna stared, unsure of what to do as the clock ticked on. Had she been too harsh? Should she give Elsa a hug? Would Elsa get mad if she did? Finally, Elsa turned back towards her, still not making eye contact.

"Alright. I will let you hunt these wraiths and I won't tell Mom. But you have to take me with you. I will be watching you, so don't think you can sneak off without me. Do you promise?"

Now Elsa looked up, holding her gaze. Her icy stare was unrelenting. Anna nodded.

"Yes. I promise."

_I'm glad you were able to resolve your disagreement. Honestly, you humans can be so unreasonable sometimes. _Kyubey commented, scratching an ear with his paw.

Elsa glared at him. "Don't think I trust you. You didn't tell Anna that she would be forced to fight wraiths as a magical girl, did you? I'll be watching you, so don't try anything. I won't be becoming a magical girl, either, so forget about it."

_Believe it or not, Elsa, I'm not your enemy and I did not mislead Anna. She got her wish, didn't she? It was a fair contract. But I get your point._

"Come on, Elsa, leave Kyubey alone." Anna said. "It was an emergency. Those wraiths were attacking the school, there wasn't enough time to explain everything."

Elsa sighed. "If you say so."

Elsa walked towards the door, then paused, leaning on the doorframe.

"Change the bandages every few days." Elsa said, and then left.

Anna stared at her sister's back as she walked away. She knew that Elsa cared about her at least a little bit, but it didn't make her behavior any less mysterious.

* * *

Later that night, Elsa paced her room, unable to hold her magic back. Frost spread across the walls and her feet crunched as she stepped on snow.

Elsa wrung her hands as she walked. She'd closed herself off for years to protect Anna from her magic, but now Anna had her own brand of dangerous magic. Had it all been for nothing?

The worst part was that Anna had made that wish because of her. In the end, all she could do was put Anna in more danger.

"Dammit!" Elsa collapsed on her bed, unable to hold a sob. She buried her face in her pillow.

She had to keep Anna safe, but she didn't know how; her powers were worse than useless, they were dangerous. Was watching over Anna the best she could do? And even if she did that, her curse would still be a risk. She decided to figure it out the next day, allowing her exhaustion to carry her to sleep.


	3. The Power of Friendship

The next day, Anna woke up earlier than usual and got ready in time to eat breakfast with Elsa and her mother. Elsa frowned slightly as Anna entered the kitchen with Kyubey perched on her shoulder.

"Good morning, Anna." Their mother said, looking up from her nursing magazine and putting down the mug of coffee she'd been holding.

"Good morning."

Anna prepared her bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats and quickly took her seat at the table across from Elsa, not allowing her sister any time to escape. Elsa had said that she would be watching her, so maybe she wouldn't try this time, but Anna didn't want to take any chances. Elsa stared at Kyubey briefly, but returned to eating before their mother could notice.

"How's biology? I hear Rutledge is pretty hard." Anna said in between bites of cereal.

Her mom glanced at Elsa and they exchanged a look.

"It's alright." Elsa finally replied.

This was another thing that bothered Anna. It sometimes seemed like her mother was monitoring her interactions with Elsa. Anna suspected that her parents had something to do with Elsa shutting herself off from other people. That would explain why their dad had insisted on homeschooling them until high school no matter how much Anna begged to be able to go to school with other girls her age. But when Anna had asked about it, her parents just made excuses, or said that they couldn't force Elsa to talk to her.

It didn't really matter. In the end, it was Elsa who chose not to talk to her, even when no one else was there to watch them. But this time, Elsa wouldn't be getting away with it.

_How about you give me a real answer this time?_

From the corner of her eye, Anna could see Elsa stiffen. She smiled slightly, having never stopped eating her cereal. Elsa recovered quickly and continued eating.

_So you really do have magic now. _Elsa's voice sounded in her head. Anna couldn't place the tone. Was it angry, or maybe sad?

_That's not exactly right. _Kyubey jumped off of Anna's shoulder and stretched on the table in front of their unsuspecting mother. _Telepathy isn't one of Anna's powers. I'm acting as a relay. It's quite useful for when magical girls and girls with potential need to communicate. And before you ask, no, I can't read your thoughts unless you're directing them at me or Anna._

_I'm not sure whether I can believe that._ Elsa said. She finished her cereal and got up to put the bowl away.

Anna swallowed the last few bites of her own bowl and slurped the milk down, not noticing the mildly disgusted look her mother gave her as she got up and followed Elsa.

_You can't not to talk to me forever! _Anna huffed.

* * *

But it seemed that Elsa intended to do just that. This time, Elsa didn't leave home before Anna, instead opting to wait by the front door for Anna to leave first. Anna spent ten tense, but still boring, minutes standing across the hall from her. Anna stared at Elsa while her sister took an immense interest in the strap of her backpack, refusing to make eye contact.

_Come on, Elsa, would it really be the end of the world for us to walk together?_

Elsa didn't respond.

Finally, five minutes before the bus was set to arrive at the bus stop, Anna sighed and gave up, walking out the door and along her usual path to the bus stop. After a minute of walking, she glanced behind her, where Elsa was following and maintaining a steady distance. Anna reached up to her shoulder and scratched Kyubey's head.

_Do you have any idea why she doesn't want to talk to me? You _are_ the one who granted my wish._ Anna asked.

_I grant wishes, but the magic comes from the girl. I have no way of knowing. And the fact that you asked for you and your sister to become close rather than be close means that it's impossible to know how long it will take for her to start talking to you. Really, though, why did you word it like that?_

Anna considered the question carefully. It was true that she could have just wished for her and Elsa to instantly be close, though she wasn't sure how a wish like that would have been granted. She shuddered as she imagined her and Elsa's memories being rewritten so that they had never had any problems in the first place. Just how powerful were wishes?

_No, a wish like that wouldn't have been as satisfying._

_If you say so. _Kyubey turned to look into her eyes, and not for the first time, Anna was struck by how strangely dull they seemed despite the otherwise deep, red color. _You aren't the first magical girl to make a noninstantaneous wish, though I never understand why. Humans sure are strange._

Anna chuckled. _Are people really that strange to you? What exactly are you, anyway?_

_I'm Kyubey. My species has always been around, helping magical girls fight wraiths across history. Humans have just never been aware of us._

_Because most people can't see you?_

_That's right._

There was something about the way Kyubey spoke about humans that bothered Anna, but she didn't know what it was. It was just a nameless worry that itched at the back of her head even as she got on the bus and found a seat. Oh well. It was probably nothing. Kyubey had been nothing but helpful to her, after all.

* * *

Anna barely paid any attention at all to her classes. It was impossible to when there were far more important things to think about, such as when she would have to fight wraiths again. Under her desk, she swiveled her soul gem around her finger. It had turned into a silver ring with strange runes engraved in it when she transformed out of her magical girl outfit the previous day.

She was still not paying attention to her surroundings as she walked to lunch, and nearly jumped when she felt a finger tap the shoulder not carrying Kyubey. She whirled to face whoever it was.

"Whoa, it's just me." Helen grinned, holding her hands up. Anna relaxed.

"Ha ha. Sorry, I'm just a little on edge today." Anna said.

"Don't worry about it. It's normal for a new girl to be nervous. Hey, why don't you eat lunch with me today?"

Anna looked up hopefully. Helen's eyes were warm and open. "Is that really okay?"

"Of course it is. We've practically fought together already and we're going to be doing that again soon. We're partners."

Anna couldn't fight the smile that tugged at her lips.

* * *

Elsa munched her sandwich methodically. Normally she took the time to savor it. The banana and Nutella flavor was the highlight of her school day. But today Anna wasn't at her regular seat. Elsa tried not to let her anxiety show as she scanned the cafeteria tables as quickly as she could.

Had Anna already left to fight those wraith things? She'd promised to take Elsa with her. But then again, if Anna had broken that promise, should she really be so surprised? Anna had no reason to honor a promise with a sister like her. Elsa clenched her fist under the table, then relaxed slightly as finally located Anna at a table across the cafeteria.

She was talking to another girl, one with auburn hair. Was that the other magical girl Anna had mentioned yesterday? Elsa didn't know what to think about her. The girl, whose name was Helen, Elsa now recalled, had saved Anna's life. But on the other hand, she still used magic. Her magic was probably not as dangerous to Anna as Elsa's was, but Elsa couldn't know for sure. At least Kyubey was nowhere to be seen.

She frowned. The only way to find out would be to join them, but that would put Anna at risk to her magic. Magic was everywhere, surrounding Anna and threatening her life. Elsa took a few controlled breaths, forcing herself to calm down. She couldn't afford to panic now. What was the best way to keep Anna safe? Was the lesser evil the known danger of her own magic, or the unknown of that girl?

Elsa inspected her gloves, making sure that they were covering her hands completely. She wouldn't make a mistake. She couldn't. She slowly got up from her seat and walked towards her sister.

* * *

"Freezepop is your favorite band too? No way!" Anna said, making Helen laugh, leaning back on the bench precariously and swinging her legs as she did.

This was amazing. Anna had never met someone she had so much in common with. They liked the same music, the same TV shows, and even banana and Nutella sandwiches. Anna didn't think she'd ever laughed this much since her father died.

"So, how did you first become a magical girl?" Anna leaned forward, eager to learn more about Helen.

Helen shrugged. "It was pretty typical. Kyubey just approached me one day and asked me to make a wish. I couldn't refuse, not when I found out that I was one of the only ones who could keep innocent people safe from wraiths."

Anna nodded. "It was exactly the same for me. I couldn't just let those wraiths attack the school. What did you wish for?"

Helen looked down, frowning slightly.

Anna gasped, realizing her error, and waved her hands. "I'm sorry, that was too personal, wasn't it? Forget I said anything."

Helen looked up again and shook her head, smiling wryly.

"No, it's not a big deal. It's just a little embarrassing. You see, my family…" Helen looked at Anna, but her eyes were unfocused, as though seeing straight through her.

"My father owns a pretty large business, you see? I'm the youngest of thirteen children, and the only girl, too. He only cared about his company, and as far as he was considered only my oldest brothers were useful to him. They were the only ones he spent time with and taught to run the business. He barely paid any attention to me, and neither did my brothers. I wished" and here Helen's voice began to crack slightly, "I wished that they would care about me. Pretty stupid, right?"

Anna grabbed Helen's hands and shook her head hard. "No, of course not. That's awful. Not your wish, the way they treated you was awful. No one deserves that."

Helen gave her a weak smile. "Thanks. It's not that bad, really."

Anna didn't let go of her hands, not convinced.

"No, really, I wished for the same thing, pretty much. My sister and I used to be really close when we were little, but one day she just started shutting me out and I still don't know why. I wished that we would become closer again."

Helen squeezed Anna's hands, holding her gaze. "I would never shut you out. Maybe I'm crazy, but I already know we're going to be really great friends."

Helen let go of her hands.

"That's not crazy at all! I think so too." Anna beamed, basking in the moment until she noticed Helen's gaze shifting to something behind her. She turned to see what it was.

There was no doubt about it; Elsa was walking directly towards their table. This had never happened before.

"Is that your sister?" Helen asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"She looks a little like you."

Anna was impressed. Usually people were thrown off by their different hair colors.

"Anyway, I'm surprised she's coming here. She usually avoids me at lunch."

Now Elsa was close by, so Anna stopped talking. She walked up to a spot at the table next to Anna.

"Is this seat taken?" Elsa asked.

"No, it isn't." Anna answered quickly. Was Elsa finally ready to talk to her now?

She tried not to feel disappointed when Elsa sat next to Anna, but scooted a little farther away so she was as far apart from Anna as possible while still being within range of conversation. It was still progress.

No one said anything for a few seconds. Anna wanted to, but there was a strange tension in the air as Elsa examined Helen's face.

"So, are you the other magical girl that Anna mentioned?" Elsa asked, her tone even and her face expressionless.

Helen looked to Anna, an eyebrow raised. "You told her about magic? It's not a good idea to get ordinary people involved."

Anna shook her head. "I didn't have a choice. She noticed me leaving early yesterday and she saw my wound. Besides, she can see Kyubey."

Helen's face returned to its usual cheer. "Well, in that case it's fine. Nice to meet you, Elsa. Anna's told me about you."

Helen held a hand out to Elsa, who hesitated, then reached out and shook it. Helen tactfully refrained from saying anything about Elsa's gloves.

"Nice to meet you too. I believe I owe you thanks. Anna told me that you practically saved her life yesterday." Elsa said, her voice still not betraying any emotion.

"No problem." Helen said.

Anna couldn't tell what Elsa thought about Helen. She said she was grateful, but she didn't seem to like Helen, exactly. She supposed it was natural. If Elsa avoided talking to her own sister, why would she be friendly with a stranger?

A few more seconds passed in awkward silence. Elsa stared disinterestedly past Helen. Anna tried desperately to think of something to talk about. This was her chance: Elsa had joined them of her own accord, even if it was just because she was monitoring her. Helen opened her mouth to say something when a thought from Kyubey cut her off.

_I've been watching out for wraith swarms at the edge of your territory like you wanted, Helen. There's one approaching the town hall right now._

_On it_. Helen said, and got up from the table. She looked towards Anna, who got up in a hurry to follow Helen. _Are you ready to go?_

_Yes, I am._

Elsa was already standing. "I will be going with you."

Helen had been about to start walking off, but she turned around quickly, her eyes wide.

"What, you're coming too? You might have potential, but you still can't fight wraiths. It's not safe."

Elsa didn't budge. "I'm coming."

Anna winced. _Sorry, my bad. I promised Elsa that I would let her come along. It was the only way I could convince her not to tell my mother that I was a magical girl._

Helen tilted her head, thinking, then nodded. _Alright, if you're willing to risk it. Just stay back, away from the fighting, okay?_

Elsa gave her a barely perceptible nod.

Helen began walking towards the exit. _Follow me. We'll take my car._

As they walked, Anna glanced at Elsa, whose expression was as blank as ever. When she'd agreed to let Elsa come with her, she had been thinking about her responsibility to protect people as a magical girl. However, Helen had a point; Elsa would be in danger too. Anna shook her head. She wouldn't let anything happen to her sister, no matter what. She had the power now to protect everyone if need be, and even get her sister back while she was at it. That was the gift that magic had granted her, and she was grateful for it.


	4. Masks

Town hall was a lone, brick building built in the 1920s on the side of a road that didn't see much traffic. Still, there were cars were parked all around it, probably belonging to government workers.

The last time Anna had been there, she'd been accompanying her mother and Elsa. After their father died, their mother wanted to teach Elsa as much as possible about living in the real world, and apparently that included dealing with the paperwork left by their father's death. Anna had watched in silent horror as her mother taught Elsa what to do "in case something happened to me." Anna didn't know how she could talk about it so calmly. She hadn't even wanted to consider losing her mother too. Elsa had been calm too, simply nodding as she learned as much as she could, apparently ready to take on the maternal role in the event of another death. So Anna remembered town hall well, though it wasn't a pleasant memory.

The fog and the wraiths in it were new, however. They inched closer and closer along the road to the building with each passing moment. Anna swallowed when she noticed that were many more wraiths there than the previous day.

Behind her, Elsa gasped quietly as she saw the faceless figures that flickered in and out of sight, but she didn't say anything. Kyubey sat on the ground next to her and swished his tail, content just to observe.

_Crap, they're going to reach the building in a minute or two. Let's go._ Helen held out a white soul gem and changed into her magical girl outfit in a flash of white light. Anna followed her lead.

Elsa's face wore that same strange expression it'd had that morning during breakfast. Anna didn't understand; sure, this was dangerous, but most people would have been awed by that transformation anyway. Anna knew that she'd forgotten the seriousness of the situation while watching Helen.

Anna looked back towards the wraiths. She couldn't let herself be distracted now. People's lives were at stake.

_Do you have a plan?_ Anna asked nervously.

Her first instinct was to jump right into battle, but that hadn't worked out very well the previous day.

_I think I do, actually._ Helen turned to look at her. _Those wraiths are a little too close to the building. I can't use my area attacks without hurting anyone, and I don't think we can beat all of them in close quarters before they reach the building. But your magic is perfect for this. You can lure them away from the building and use your magic to avoid getting hurt. That should give us some breathing room._

"Absolutely not!" Elsa strode forward and placed a hand on Anna's shoulder as though to pull her back.

Anna was startled by the movement, but in her transformed state Elsa might as well have been trying to keep a boulder from rolling downhill.

Elsa took a deep breath and calmed down slightly. "It's too risky. You shouldn't fight separately."

_This plan has a high probability of success._ Kyubey interjected. Elsa glared at him.

Helen hesitated, then nodded. "Okay, we'll come up with something else."

_No, let's go ahead with the plan. _Anna defiantly returned to using telepathy even though she didn't need to. Even Helen had already picked up on Elsa's distaste for it. _We don't have time to come up with something better, and I won't be in danger as long as I don't run out of magic._

Anna teleported away before Elsa could object.

* * *

One second Anna was next to her, and the next she was just gone, leaving no trace that she'd ever been there. Elsa turned quickly and searched near the fog until she spotted Anna at the edge furthest from town hall. Elsa had known about Anna's power, but it was still unnerving to see it in action. Even more unnerving was how quickly the wraiths took notice of Anna and altered their course to surround her. Anna disappeared again and reappeared a few meters further away.

"She's doing well, you know. You don't need to worry about her." Helen said. She had stepped forward next to Elsa, and had mirrored her crossed arms.

Elsa just shook her head and continued watching the battle. It wasn't that she thought Helen was a bad person, exactly. However, Anna's safety was obviously not her first priority.

Perhaps some people would call Elsa selfish, putting Anna's safety before that of the dozens of people who must be in the building. But it was a decision she'd always make.

Anna kept jumping from one position to the next, drawing the wraiths further away each time. But even with her near-constant teleports, the wraiths attacked quickly, firing blasts of light at her as soon as she reappeared. A breath caught in Elsa's throat as Anna barely teleported in time to avoid one.

Elsa felt something on her arm, and realized that frost had begun to form over her gloves. She glanced at Helen and, relieved that she was still watching Anna, brushed her hands against her sides discreetly.

"Aren't they far enough away yet?" Elsa asked. She felt like an impatient child, but her anxiety was stronger than her pride right now.

"Yes, I'll join her now." Helen flicked her wrist, causing an enormous scythe to materialize in her hand, then looked back at Elsa. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe."

Helen ran forward faster than any ordinary human could, brandishing her scythe low at her side.

Elsa wished she could believe Helen's promise.

* * *

Anna had entered the battle with an angry zeal. Again, Elsa only spoke to her to tell her what to do, even when people's lives were at risk. But as the battle wore on and Anna kept teleporting, that zeal was replaced by worry and exhaustion as she used up her magic reserves luring the wraiths away from the building.

Finally, when Anna thought she could only manage a few more teleports, Helen arrived. She didn't waste a moment, immediately jumping into the fray and swinging her scythe in wide arcs as she cut through the wraiths. Anna could have sighed in relief.

_Good job. You can leave most of the fighting to me. Just stay put and defend yourself so that they don't try to surround me._ Helen said.

_Thanks. I won't let them gang up on you._

Anna was busy fighting off the wraiths that attacked her, relying on the strange instinct she had for where blows would land to dodge attacks and lash out with her spear without relying on her teleports. For the most part, she could only focus on the wraiths directly attacking her as she struggled to survive.

Still, from the corner of her eye she could see flashes of light and hear echoing booms as Helen shot orange bolts of light from her free hand with sharp flicks of her wrist. The bolts exploded on contact with wraiths, taking several of them out at a time. Within a few minutes, all of the wraiths were gone, leaving only black cubes on the ground as the fog began to disperse.

Anna dropped to her knees, placing her hands on the ground as she panted. Helen seemed tired too, sitting down and pulling a few grief cubes from pocket, which she applied to the heart-shaped soul gem set in her gold chain necklace. She sighed as the corruption flowed from it.

_Here, clean up your soul gem._ Helen tossed her another few grief cubes, which Anna caught. _Take your time to rest. I'll get the grief cubes._

Anna nodded to her in gratitude. Helen got up and wandered across the road and lawn in front of the town hall, picking up the grief cubes she came across.

As Anna cleansed her soul gem, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Elsa approaching her. The footsteps slowed as Elsa got closer. Her hands were clenched at her sides. Elsa just stood there for a few seconds, watching the darkness leave Anna's soul gem. A few times her body tensed as though she was about to step forward, but she never did. The expression on Elsa's face was one Anna had never seen before.

"Do you need help with that?" Elsa finally asked, her voice small.

It was strange. Anna was the type of person who kept grudges, but she never could stay angry at Elsa. Especially not when Elsa made one of those faces that reminded her of how little she knew about her sister.

"No, I'm good. Actually, I changed my mind. Can you get me a couple more of those grief cubes? I don't have the energy to walk around right now."

Elsa nodded and joined Helen in checking the ground for grief cubes. A few minutes later, all of them were collected and Elsa returned to Anna, wordlessly dropping them in Anna's hand. Anna brought the entire pile up to her soul gem, sucking all of the corruption out in one go.

She got up and they walked to join Helen at her car. Elsa walked beside her but was still keeping her distance.

"Aren't you worried about missing classes?" Anna asked, not really expecting an answer. "It's not like you can actually do anything here, and you don't have to be in danger."

Elsa flinched. Had she said something wrong?

"That's none of your concern." She didn't meet Anna's gaze as she answered.

Anna nodded slowly and stayed silent for the rest of the walk. She was probably pushing too hard, expecting too much. This was still more progress that she'd made with Elsa in the last two days than in the last few years put together.

* * *

"Well, you'd better get to your afternoon classes, at least." Helen said, waving Anna goodbye. "I'll get going too. See you later."

"Bye. Thanks for the help!" Anna waved back as Helen began to walk away with Kyubey on her shoulder. Elsa waved too, to Anna's partial surprise.

Anna was more surprised when Elsa walked her to her next class. When they reached it, Anna stopped, waiting outside the door. Elsa stopped too.

"So." Anna began, not sure what she wanted to say.

"So." Elsa repeated, an eyebrow raised.

Anna giggled and, a few seconds later, Elsa did too.

Anna smiled. "I'll see you later."

Elsa hesitated, then nodded. "I'll see you later."

Anna turned away and stepped into the classroom. Her history teacher was annoyed that she was late and Anna mumbled some terrible excuse. She never was good at lying. But her teacher just rolled his eyes and gestured towards her seat, wanting to get on with the lesson.

Anna was so exhausted from the battle that she slept through the entire lesson. When she left class, blinking hard in an effort to stay alert, she almost missed seeing Kristen leaning against the lockers in front of the door.

Kristen was dressed in worn jeans and a hoodie, her pigtails tucked under a wool cap in spite of the slow arrival of spring. It was quite a contrast to the magical girl outfit Anna had seen the previous day.

"New girl." Kristen said blandly.

"Oh, hi, you're the girl I met yesterday, right?" Anna said. It couldn't hurt to be polite even if Kristen wouldn't extend the same courtesy to her. "Did you want to talk to me?"

"Yeah." Kristen glanced each way along the hallway where throngs of students were heading to their next classes. Kristen started to walk away. "Come with me. I'd rather talk someplace private."

Anna huffed in annoyance, but decided to go along with it, following in the path that Kristen cleared as she shoved her way through the crowd. She couldn't deny that they had to be careful about discussing magical girl business in public, anyway.

She followed Kristen up the stairs until they reached the door to the roof, which was secured by a heavy padlock. Anna nearly let out a yell when she suddenly held her hand out and transformed. Kristen smashed the padlock with her hand, breaking it, and detransformed right afterwards.

Kristen removed the remnants of the lock, opened the door, and looked back.

"I can fix it with magic later," she said upon seeing Anna's expression. Kristen walked through the door.

Anna struggled to control her shocked features. She didn't like looking like a newbie. After a few seconds, she joined Kristen on the roof. Kristen was looking down, watching students walk from building to building.

Anna didn't say anything. To be honest, Kristen was a bit intimidating. Suddenly, Kristen turned and stared at her.

"Why did you become a magical girl?" Kristen asked.

Anna blinked. She hadn't been expecting an interrogation.

"Wraiths were about to attack the school. I couldn't just let them hurt people." Anna responded instinctively.

Kristen frowned. "And Kyubey just forgot to mention that there were other magical girls here until after you contracted, didn't he? Typical. You shouldn't trust him, you know. There's a reason I waited until I knew he was with Helen to talk."

Anna crossed her arms. Her annoyance was back. "Look, I don't know what your deal is, but you and Helen showed up late. If I hadn't become a magical girl, people could have died. Besides, if Kyubey is so bad, why would he grant wishes or help us fight wraiths?"

Kristen shook her head. Her narrow-eyed expression made Anna's blood boil. She just knew Kristen was looking down on her.

"I never said Kyubey was evil. He just can't be trusted. He doesn't think like us humans and he has his own agenda. He doesn't particularly care about us magical girls, either." Kristen's words were bitter, as though spoken from personal experience, and gave Anna pause.

She couldn't deny that Kyubey was different. Something about him bothered her. She shook her head, dismissing it. She was just being paranoid. She'd take what Kyubey said from now on with a grain of salt, but she couldn't start suspecting him just because he wasn't human when she had no proof that he'd done anything wrong.

"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No. Look, I'm trying to do you a favor here, so listen up. You're a magical girl now and you need all the help you can get." Kristen said, her brow furrowed.

Anna sighed and uncrossed her arms. Kristen got on her nerves, but she really could use the advice, and she did seem to want to help. "Alright, I'm listening."

Kristen's eyes were focused, unlike the slightly apathetic look she usually wore.

"First of all, forget all of that hero stuff. It won't help you. Saving people's lives? Get real. You're a soldier now. You can't save everyone, you can't tell anyone what you're going through, and the other magical girls? You'd be lucky if they just stayed out of your way." Kristen's jaw set as she spoke, her face tense.

Anna frowned. "What are you talking about? Helen and I get along fine."

Kristen turned slightly and glanced at the ground, as though searching for someone. "You can't trust Helen either. She has a bad reputation among magical girls. She must want you for something."

"What, you want me to believe rumors now?" Anna crossed her arms again.

Anna had been grieving during her first few weeks of high school after her father died. Some of her classmates thought the new girl was weird, and hadn't hesitated to let others know it. Anna had ended up crying in a bathroom when she heard a particularly nasty joke about how she didn't have friends for a good reason.

When she overheard someone calling Elsa a bitch, she'd gotten into a fistfight.

"Rumors exist for a reason. You can't be too careful." Kristen insisted.

"Look, I'm new to all of this, but I'm not changing who I am. I'm not fighting wraiths to be a hero. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do. And I can tell Helen is a good person."

"You've known her for barely two days. You don't know anything about her." Kristen said, her voice losing its anger in exasperation.

Anna stood her ground.

Kristen scowled. "It's your funeral."

She walked towards the door.

"Wait." Anna called out. Kristen turned to face her, and she held her gaze. "Look, I still don't think I can believe some of the things you said, but I do think you really are trying to help me so…thanks."

Kristen paused, then grunted in acknowledgement. The door slammed, leaving Anna alone on the roof.

Anna took in the view for a few more seconds before going back to class. But Kristen's warnings were at the front of her mind even when she got home.

* * *

Elsa paced back and forth in her room. She was enjoying this too much. It was interfering with her ability to keep Anna safe.

It was hard. She liked Anna. She enjoyed her walks with her sister and she even enjoyed being with her after the battle, despite the danger Anna had been in during it. A not insignificant part of her was thrilled to have an excuse to spend time with her little sister again. She couldn't allow that to cloud her judgement. She couldn't let herself forget that she was dangerous.

She had accomplished her goals for the day. She had watched over Anna while she fought, learned more about wraiths and magical girls, and assessed Helen.

Helen was not a direct threat. She seemed like a decent person and had good control over her magic. Still, willingly or not she was putting Anna in danger. But even if Elsa could convince Anna to avoid Helen, that would leave Anna to fight wraiths alone, which was unacceptable.

Elsa sighed. Her ice was still the greatest threat to Anna, but she couldn't avoid Anna entirely anymore.

Elsa took off her gloves and began practicing her control exercises as her father had taught her. However, ice almost immediately formed on her hands once she took the gloves off no matter how hard she tried to not feel anything. What little control she once had had disappeared with her father's death. It didn't help that these exercises reminded her of him.

Elsa kept practicing.

Not so far away, a magical girl sat on the roof of a house, dangling her legs over the side. Kyubey was curled up in her lap. They both watched a holographic screen projected in midair showing Elsa using magic.

_I've said it before, but it really is incredible that a human could access her magic even before becoming a magical girl._ Kyubey said.

_Yeah, she must be pretty damn powerful. _Helen smirked as she touched the screen, causing it to focus in on Elsa.

_Really, though, this could have been done fifteen times as quickly if we'd taken the direct approach I suggested and forced her to contract to save her life. It would have been quite easy to observe her use magic in each stage of her life cycle and then reproduce her power. And every second saved is precious when fighting entropy. I'm tempted to think you're trying to catch two birds with one stone._

Helen snorted. _You might know everything there is to know about entropy, Kyubey, but you don't understand humans at all. I've been watching them for weeks now. It's obvious that she cares about her sister a great deal. It's much easier to use her sister to manipulate her than to use a blunt approach._

_Are you really so confident in your ability to control Anna? If you are so good at it, why not manipulate Elsa directly?_

_Elsa is a frigid bitch. It'd take a lot longer to work with her. But I had an easy enough time testing Anna today, didn't I? She agreed to that stupid battle plan even though it nearly got her killed. She's desperate for attention. Just play to her hero complex, use her disagreements with her sister against her, and she's putty in my hands. Besides, this way we can avoid the risk of killing Elsa in the process of getting her to contract. If this plan fails, we can always fall back to your plan. And with this plan, Elsa's wish will be more powerful._

_Fine. I can't deny that humans are incomprehensibly irrational. You're one of the only exceptions to that rule. It's encouraging that some humans have reasonable goals and take every measure they need to achieve them._

_Thank you._

_You're welcome. __Also, don't forget to get Elsa to use her magic again during the next wraith attack. I need to prepare some instruments to take precise measurements of her magic use._

_Of course. I live to serve._

_You know, I might not be able to understand why humans use sarcasm, but I can detect it. Just don't get too hasty. That final phase of the plan is especially delicate. You'll get to have Elsa in the end, anyway._

Helen's teeth glinted in the moonlight as she licked her lips.


	5. Love Tastes Like Chocolate

A/N: This wouldn't be a magical girl story without an inordinate focus on food, especially cake. I'm looking for a beta reader, so if anyone is interested, please shoot me a PM. I don't need much help with grammar or spelling, but writing is still pretty new to me so help with that and with consistency issues would be useful.

* * *

Anna woke up the next morning in a surprisingly good mood. It was a Saturday and Anna knew exactly what she wanted to do with her time this weekend: she would bake a cake. Obviously the direct approach wasn't working with Elsa, but she knew her sister couldn't resist her patented Triple Chocolate cake.

Elsa raised an eyebrow as Anna bounced past her room, apparently surprised, or perhaps even amused, by Anna's energy. Elsa was curled up on the chair and holding a thick book, probably historical fiction. Anna couldn't stay awake through books like that; she loved medieval fantasy, but Elsa seemed to prefer more realistic books. Anna had learned her preferences by sneaking into her sister's room on the rare occasion that Elsa wasn't home, curious to learn more about her. Unfortunately, Elsa's room was spartan aside from her reading chair and bookshelf.

"You're in a good mood. Are you going somewhere today?" Elsa asked.

Oh. Anna should have known that Elsa left her door open to keep an eye on her.

Anna forced herself to keep smiling. "I'm going shopping for a bit."

Elsa frowned. "Will you be gone long?"

"No, I'm just picking up a few ingredients to bake a cake. It shouldn't take more than an hour. Do you want to help?" Anna asked hopefully. When they were younger, they had so much fun playing with Easy Bake ovens. They were a bit old for that now, but still.

"Not really." Elsa said, looking back down at her book again. Anna's smile dropped.

"Okay, see you." Anna walked away feeling a bit dejected despite her efforts. But then she remembered that she had a friend now, and friends did things together, right? She got her phone out from her pocket, her fingers fumbling over the unfamiliar keyboard.

_Do you like baking? Im making a cake. Want to come?_

Helen replied less than two minutes later.

_Yeah. When do u want me 2 get there?_

_12 should be good._

Anna strode with a spring in her step towards the Shoprite set in a strip mall ten minutes from her house. Even though it was late in the morning, it wasn't warm enough yet for many people to be outside on a Saturday so Anna was able to make good time.

When she got there, she got a cart and walked through the aisles, picking up the things she needed. They had most of the ingredients, she just needed to get some extra Nutella and some frosting. She probably could have made do with a basket, but Anna enjoyed pushing the cart around. It helped that not many people were there in the morning for her to potentially bump into. After she had the required ingredients, she decided to pick up some bread. Her mother wasn't the most diligent when it came to cooking, so they were nearly out and would need more bread for sandwiches.

She was surprised to see Kristen there, and apparently the feeling was mutual. Kristen had paused with her hand halfway outstretched towards the bread. Unlike hers, Kristen's shopping cart was almost full, stuffed with actual groceries like vegetables.

"Don't mind me." Anna said. Kristen paused, then nodded and put the bread in her cart.

"Running errands for your parents or something?" Anna asked, suddenly curious. She wasn't as annoyed by Kristen as she'd been the previous day. It probably helped that Kristen hadn't opened her mouth yet.

"Something like that." Kristen pulled her cart back to get past, but stopped. Anna was blocking the entire aisle.

Anna continued talking, oblivious. "Oh, come on. I know you can say more than that. You did yesterday."

Kristen scowled. "You're right, I do have something to say. I don't have parents. I have _a_ parent, and I'm shopping because she can't get out of bed while you're here to play at cooking. Now get out of my way."

Anna flinched and pushed her cart to the side in a hurry, allowing Kristen to roughly push past her.

Anna felt her eyes prickle with half-formed tears. She wasn't sure whether they were from sadness or anger. Kristen stopped a few steps away and then turned back.

Kristen sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just having a bad day."

Anna nodded stiffly, still unable to find her voice. Kristen looked away for a few seconds before speaking.

"You're done with your shopping, right? Come with me. I'll get you a donut." Kristen began pushing her cart away and Anna followed after grabbing a loaf of bread.

Maybe Anna should have been more annoyed at Kristen's transparent attempt at buying forgiveness. But she'd begun to consider why Kristen had said that, and if she was right she could understand a little too well.

They got in line at one of the registers. There wasn't much crowd so they didn't have to wait long to pay for their items, but it took several minutes for all of Kristen's items to be scanned.

The Dunkin Donuts next to the Shoprite was not very crowded now, but Anna occupied a table for them anyway while Kristen bought the donuts. When she was done, Kristen walked over and handed her a Boston Cream, keeping one for herself, and took a seat across from Anna.

Anna frowned slightly, not taking a bite just yet despite the temptation.

"Sorry if I reminded you about your father. My dad died pretty recently, so I wouldn't want to do that to anyone else." Anna said, looking down.

Kristen blinked. "What? No, I'm adopted. I thought you'd heard about it."

"How would I know about that?"

Kristen's eyes lost their focus, gazing at something out of sight. "Never mind. I guess I misjudged you."

The conversation died after that, and they spent the next few minutes eating the donuts in silence. As she ate, Anna thought about the girl in front of her. She couldn't quite place Kristen. She was nice one moment and not the next. Anna got the feeling that Kristen had been through a lot, but Kristen didn't seem like the kind of person who would appreciate questions.

Kristen finished her donut first and stood up to leave.

"You really should at least listen to me about Kyubey, you know."

Anna smiled. "And you really should know that I won't."

Kristen just shook her head and left, though Anna thought the lines around her eyes briefly wrinkled with amusement.

* * *

Normally, Elsa was able to distract herself from her problems for a few hours by reading, but for the last few days that had been impossible. This morning she'd spent an hour rereading the same page over and over again without any of it sinking in. Finally, Elsa gave up, closing the book and getting up to put it back on the shelf.

_Have you thought some more about becoming a magical girl? Do you know what you want to wish for?_

Elsa swept her eyes across the room until she found the source of the voice. She narrowed her eyes when she spotted Kyubey sitting on her windowsill. She should have known better than to open the window. From now on, she would have to make sure all the windows at home were closed.

"Get out."

_Won't you at least hear me out? How can you make an optimal decision if you ignore relevant information?_

Elsa crossed her arms.

_I will leave for now. Let me know if you change your mind._

Kyubey jumped from the window to a branch of the tree that grew in the front yard and scampered away. Elsa waited a few seconds before shutting the window.

There was no way Elsa would ever accept Kyubey's contract. The last thing she needed was more magic. Ineffectual though it was, Kyubey's pestering was still annoying. It also forced her to brood on the terrible situation Anna was in. It didn't help. She was already doing everything she could, which wasn't much.

Elsa reconsidered the possibility of telling her mother. It wasn't the promise she'd made to Anna that kept her from doing it. She'd break any promise in order to protect Anna. However, if she did Anna wouldn't let her watch over her during wraith hunts.

Perhaps their mother could watch Anna instead? It would be safer, but Elsa couldn't be sure that Anna would agree to it, especially after Elsa broke her promise. Perhaps their mother could try to force Anna to comply by threatening to pull her out of school and have her homeschooled again. Elsa didn't think that would work, though. Anna could be very stubborn, especially when she thought she was doing the right thing such as by not putting her family in danger.

Elsa spent the next half hour attempting to work on her homework. The house was quiet. Anna was gone and her mother was still sleeping off a night shift at the hospital. The solitude usually didn't bother Elsa; it was a relief compared to the constant struggle of controlling herself when she was in public. But now she felt lonely. Elsa knew why, but she couldn't give in to it. Talking to Anna when they had no choice but to be together was alright. But going out of her way to spend time with Anna – or anyone else, for that matter – was unacceptable.

It didn't help that Elsa couldn't even talk to her mother about it. All her life, her parents had been the only ones Elsa could confide in when it came to magic. It was limited, of course. She couldn't convey just how scared and powerless she felt sometimes. At the end of the day they were her parents, and there was a thin line that separated them; they were not equals. But now, with her father dead and Elsa's tongue held by her promise, she didn't even have that.

Someone knocked on the front door. It wasn't Anna; she'd taken the keys with her. Elsa looked out her window to see Helen waiting on the front steps with her hands in the pockets of her jeans.

Elsa walked downstairs at a measured pace, not rushing but not exactly dragging her feet either. She opened the door.

"Hi. Are you here to see Anna?" Elsa asked, not yet moving from the doorway to let Helen in. She'd be polite, but she wasn't thrilled with the possibility of having Helen in her home.

"Yeah, we're baking a cake together." Helen said. At least she was still waiting outside respectfully.

"I see. Anna's still getting the ingredients. Why don't you come in?"

Elsa didn't let her annoyance show as she led Helen to the family room. She waited until Helen sat down one of the sofas and then promptly chose the other one. The clock ticked by as Elsa waited for Helen to attempt some small talk, but thankfully Helen seemed to get the hint that she wasn't interested. Perhaps they could get along after all.

* * *

Anna's walk back home was quiet, only broken by the rustling of the grocery bags as she swung them by her legs. It gave her time to think. She'd seen something in Kristen that reminded her of herself, and that had given her more pause than anything Kristen had said the previous day. It wouldn't change the way she acted, but maybe she should give Kristen's advice more consideration.

Anna was surprised to see Kyubey waiting on the side of the road when she turned a corner. He jumped up to her shoulder, which wasn't very stable because of the bags she carried, before finally settling on her head. It would have been quite uncomfortable if he wasn't lighter than he should have been for his size.

_I thought you were with Helen. _Anna said.

_She arrived at your house a few minutes ago, but Elsa didn't want to talk to me so I decided that I would wait to arrive with you._

_Did you say anything to make her mad?_ Anna said carefully.

_I just wanted to talk to her about becoming a magical girl, but she didn't even want to listen. She had nothing to lose by just talking._

_Hmm._

Anna tried not to let her relief show. She hadn't thought that Elsa would become a magical girl, so when Kyubey mentioned it she realized for the first time that Elsa too might one day have to risk her life fighting wraiths. If even half of what Kristen had said about being a magical girl was true, she didn't want Elsa to have to go through it. It didn't seem like Anna had anything to worry about, but she was annoyed that she hadn't thought of it.

_Hey, Kyubey. If I become better at fighting wraiths, you won't need Elsa to make a contract, right?_

There was a pause. _I suppose not. I can hold off on asking her to contract if you prefer._

_You can do that?_

_Of course. Maintaining good relationships with current magical girls is just as important as recruiting new ones. _

_Thank you! I won't let you down._

It was as though the sun had come back out. Kristen had said that Kyubey didn't care about her, but obviously that wasn't true. He might be a little strange, but he was nice.

Anna reached the house a minute later and let herself in.

"Hi, Anna." Helen greeted her as she walked into the family room.

"Hi." Anna flashed a grin at her before glancing at Elsa, who she'd expected to still be waiting in her room. "Did you change your mind?"

Elsa's arms were folded and she sat straight-backed on the sofa. It defeated the entire purpose of the cushions. Elsa seemed to avoid looking at Kyubey when she looked at Anna.

"Another pair of hands can't hurt." Helen said.

Elsa examined Helen's face for a few seconds before looking away. "No, I just came downstairs to watch some TV. You two have fun." Elsa grabbed the TV remote and turned it on, flicking through the channels.

Anna looked down. She shouldn't have been disappointed. She hadn't been expecting anything different and she should have been used to it by now, but it still hurt every time Elsa rejected her. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright? Let's make that cake, okay?" Helen said, her eyes warm and understanding.

Anna snapped out of the haze. "Right. Let's get cooking!" She led Helen to the kitchen, grateful for Helen's distraction.

_Why are you preparing a cake yourself when you can purchase one cheaply? _Kyubey said as they got the ingredients out. _In fact, eating cake at all is inefficient nutritionally, thermodynamically, economically, and even environmentally. The most efficient way to produce food would be for you humans to eat only grains, legumes, and vegetables and graze livestock only on land that isn't arable._

Helen rolled her eyes. "It's cake, Kyubey. It's delicious."

Anna grimaced. "I try to be careful about the environment, but I can't give up cake."

_Humans. I will meet you back at your house later, Helen. _Kyubey stretched, jumped down from Anna's head, and scurried away.

"Where did he go?" Anna asked. Helen shrugged.

They worked for several minutes, their heads nearly touching as they pored over the recipe that Anna had printed out.

"You're good at this." Helen said as Anna began to mix the eggs and milk with the dry ingredients.

Anna blushed. "Who, me? No, I'm getting ingredients all over the place."

"No, really. I can't crack eggs like you can. But, you know, you don't need to struggle like that. Let me show you something."

Helen gestured for beater, and Anna handed it to her and pushed the bowl over. Helen rolled up her sleeves and picked up the beater again. Suddenly her arm was a whirl of motion and the ingredients were mixing as fast as with any electric beater.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Helen looked over to her with a cocky grin.

"You can do that without transforming?!" Anna said. Even Kristen hadn't been able to do that when she broke the lock to the school roof. She hadn't known it was possible.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Elsa staring at them, but when she looked, Elsa was facing forward again. Anna shifted her gaze back to Helen, who'd started explaining.

"It takes a little practice and it's limited, but yeah. I can show you sometime. Actually, why don't we practice together tomorrow? I've been meaning to train you a bit."

Anna nodded eagerly. "I'd love that."

Helen returned to beating the cake mix and Anna leaned back against the counter, enjoying the clicking of the beating and the background of the news channel that Elsa was watching. She paid more attention when she heard a familiar name.

"-Johansen de Isles, the billionaire born and raised here in the county of Arendelle, bought out Robertson Technical this week and immediately laid off a quarter of the employees, numbering almost three hundred. Here's an exclusive interview with him," a news reporter said.

Anna glanced at the TV. A man with graying red hair in a gray suit towered over the reporter who was attempting to hold the microphone close to his face. It probably wasn't necessary because his voice boomed even over the rain in the background.

"If you can't contribute anything, you aren't worth anything. This country was built on hard work, and there isn't any room for incompetents. It's just like parenting, and I should know; I have twelve children. They don't get handouts. They have to earn it."

Helen's arm jerked and a drop of batter splashed out of the bowl and onto Anna's face. She wiped it off.

"Was that your father?" Anna asked.

Helen sighed. "Yeah."

Anna didn't know what to say. She didn't even know for sure what had upset Helen. So she tried to distract Helen with preparing the baking pan.

While the cake baked, she showed Helen her room. She hadn't had time to decorate it much, but she did have her stuffed animal collection arranged around her bed.

"This is Rosie," she said, handing Helen her favorite, a stuffed dolphin. Anna bit her lip. Why had she thought this would be a good idea?

"Aww. It's cute." Helen squeezed it appreciatively, then tickled Anna's nose with it, making her laugh.

"Thanks!" And she really was thankful. Anna knew some of the "friends" she'd made at school would have mocked her for it.

They spent the next hour lounging on her bed, listening to music, and talking about school. It was normal, in a way that Anna had never really experienced.

Before she knew it, the timer was beeping, and they rushed to the kitchen to retrieve the cake. They prepared the Nutella frosting, applied it, and then it was finished. They took a moment to appreciate the accomplishment. The cake was perfectly round and Helen apparently had an artistic side because she'd done a decent job of decorating with frills on the edges and chocolate hearts identical to her soul gem.

"Not bad." Helen said, nodding.

"Not bad at all." Anna agreed. It was better than anything she could have made on her own. They really did make a good team.

Anna sliced the cake and put two slices on plates, which she and Helen took to the table. Anna carried another plate to Elsa, who was still watching TV on the couch. Anna held it in front of her.

"The cake's done. Do you want to eat with us or…?" Anna said hesitantly.

Elsa didn't reach for the plate. "Why are you giving me this? I didn't help you." Elsa's voice trembled slightly.

Anna frowned, confused. "It's just natural, right? Just take it."

Elsa took the plate and took a bite with her fork, eating it slowly. "It's good." Her voice still had that strange quality to it.

Anna beamed smugly. "Of course it is. It's chocolate."

"They do say that chocolate tastes like love." Elsa muttered. Anna sent a questioning look at her, but Elsa didn't explain. "Thank you. Save a slice for our mother too."

"Yeah, I will." Anna smiled and joined Helen at the table. They ate quickly, enjoying a companionable silence as they focused on the flavor, and soaked in the afterglow for a few minutes. Finally, Helen got up to leave and Anna walked her to the front door.

"I had a lot of fun today," Helen said as she tied her shoes.

"Me too. See you tomorrow!"

They waved goodbye and Anna returned to the kitchen. After thinking for a moment, she packaged one of the slices separately from the others. She would give that one to Kristen sometime. Maybe it would make her less grumpy? Anna giggled to herself. She would use the rest over the course of the week to blackmail Elsa into talking to her. Anna put one of the slices on a plate, carried it upstairs to her mother's bedroom, and knocked on the door. It was about time for her to wake up.

Her mom opened the door, her eyes barely open and her hair messy. She was still wearing her nursing uniform from the night before, which was now crinkled.

"Do you want some cake?"

Her mom accepted it, smiling blearily, and moaned appreciatively as she ate it, not even bothering to sit down first.

"This is good. Did you make it yourself?" she asked afterwards. She sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Anna sat down.

"I made it with a friend from school." Anna said, trying not to let her happiness be too obvious.

"You made a friend? I'm happy for you."

Anna looked away.

"What's wrong, Anna?"

"It's strange. For a few hours I- I forgot about Dad." Anna choked up, tears beginning to form.

Her mother reached an arm around her and pulled her close. "Oh, Anna. You deserve to be happy. Your father would be glad too."

Anna didn't hear anything. She buried her face in her mother's side as the tears washed away her grief. When she was done, she knew she could finally move on and create a new life with her mother, her sister, with Helen, and maybe even with Kristen and Kyubey. She would never forget her father, but she wouldn't let grief hold her back any more.

* * *

_You are going to train her? Her survival is not necessary for our plan._

_So you were eavesdropping. Relax. I have everything under control._

_If I didn't know better, I would think that you're starting to get attached to her. Don't you follow that philosophy that all the world's a stage? Don't forget Anna's role._

_I will play my part._

_That wasn't a denial._

Helen cut off the connection and gazed out her window. The grounds were large and well-maintained, fitting for her enormous home – a necessity for someone with her father's influence and thirteen children. So why did it feel so much emptier than Anna's?

She shook her head. It was too late to turn back now. She returned to her notebook and made some final adjustments to the map of the territory of every magical girl in Arendelle County.


	6. Strength of Heart, Strength of Mind

There was exactly one vice that Helen allowed herself to indulge in, and that was exercise.

She woke up at 6 a.m. every morning to jog and work out while in human form. It was frivolous, really – as a magical girl she was already stronger than any human could ever be. Her technique of accessing a limited quantity of her magic even in human form, another frivolity considering it only took a split second to transform, made her strength as a human redundant.

However, she couldn't deny the thrill of improving herself, of pushing the limits of what she was capable of. It was the same drive that drove her to study until she was at the top of her class, befriend as many of her father's acquaintances – and enemies – behind his back as she could, and absorb every scrap of information she found on running a business.

Helen was nothing like her father, but she did agree with him on one matter: no matter how much you were born with, in order to truly become powerful and stay powerful you had to earn it.

So Helen worked tirelessly, so that one day he would be the powerless one. And if Anna could learn some of her habits, well, perhaps she would actually be useful.

* * *

"Do it again." Helen said, her voice taking on an authoritative edge that Anna didn't hear from her often.

Anna narrowed her eyes in concentration as she threw her spear, willing it to go where she wished it to. It vanished mid-trajectory and reappeared at the opposite end of their makeshift training field, angled downward to strike the rubber martial arts target directly in its center.

Helen nodded her approval. "Not bad. You can take a break for a minute. I'm going to practice my aim for a bit."

Anna exhaled deeply as she slid to the ground, spreading her arms on the soft grass. She took in the muted sounds and flashes of light of Helen firing a much weaker form of her area attack at the targets. They were at Helen's home, training on a soccer field secluded from the rest of the grounds by a small grove of trees. The rest of Helen's family was apparently gone for the day and Helen had forbidden the groundskeeper and other servants from disturbing them. Without the memory-fuzzing influence of the wraiths' miasma they had to be careful about using their abilities in public, which was why it was fortunate that Helen had such a convenient training area.

Anna grimaced. She really shouldn't have considered it fortunate. The only reason they were able to meet at Helen's home in the first place was that her family had left her there alone.

Elsa walked up to her and handed her a few grief cubes. She must have kept some from the previous battle.

"Use these." Elsa said firmly.

"Thanks." Anna said, lifting them up to her soul gem. She resolved to be more careful about that. It wasn't right to rely on Elsa to remind her to keep her soul gem pure.

Elsa nodded and returned to her spot at the edge of the soccer field. Elsa had demanded to come along. It wasn't that Anna minded – it was much less dangerous for her than wraith hunts, anyway – but her refusal to do anything but literally stand on the sidelines was irritating.

After another moment, Anna got up and waved to Helen, who abandoned her target practice to join her.

"You're feeling better now, right? I wanted to come up with another battle formation." Helen dived into a more detailed explanation of her plans for future battles and Anna did her best to keep up.

Helen's training had been much different than she'd imagined. She already instinctively knew how to use her spear and move in battle, so Helen hadn't bothered with that. Instead, Helen focused on getting Anna more used to fighting with her enhanced strength and speed with some unarmed sparring. In addition to that, they came up with strategies to work together more efficiently in combat and Helen tested the limits of Anna's magic. At Helen's prompting, Anna had sensed that she could teleport one person with her, though it would take more magic. Teleporting objects like her spear hadn't been possible, but Helen had insisted that it would be very useful so she spent several hours under Helen's tutelage experimenting with her magic until she finally figured it out. According to Helen magic was actually rather flexible, at least when it came to learning skills that were conceptually linked to a magical girl's primary abilities. Anna was even able to control the trajectory of the spear when it rematerialized, just as she had could control which direction she faced when she teleported. The combat advantages were obvious, and Helen promised to teach her how to summon more spears to complement it.

Anna hid her smile as Helen's speech on strategy continued. When she was talking about magic Helen could be really talkative. Anna could tell how much it meant to her.

* * *

Elsa felt surprisingly content as she watched over Helen and Anna's training. Aside from nearly having an aneurism when they started sparring, it was a good day. The sun shone without a cloud in the sky, the birds chirped prettily, and the temperature was at that perfect level only found in early spring. If time could be stopped at that moment, Elsa might have been happy. They could be together and even the magic they all possessed was not threatening anyone now.

The training itself reminded Elsa of her exercises with her father. It was strange to think of him. Sometimes the memories of past happiness were too painful too touch, like shards of broken glass, and at other times they were comforting. Elsa regretted her magic, yes, but she didn't regret the time she'd spent with her parents because of it.

Her father had told her that she could control it, his voice confident with his faith in her, and she had practiced hard to meet his expectations. He was never afraid to touch her and ignored her when she protested despite what she had done to Anna.

"I knew you could do it," he had said, hugging her, when she'd finally gained enough control that he deemed her fit to attend public school.

The illusion of time held still and magic without danger shattered when Kyubey appeared, walking out from among the trees. Elsa did not need to be a mind reader to know what that meant.

_Another group of wraiths has appeared at the edge of town._ Kyubey said.

* * *

The western end of the town was relatively empty. There were only a few small houses interspersed with large tracts of grass. The wraith swarm was even larger than Friday's, but thankfully it was still quite far from the houses.

"Let's use formation B," Helen said, catching Anna's eye.

"Right." Anna replied, feeling more confident than last time.

They hadn't trained for very long, but she knew their improved teamwork and strategy would make a large difference. They held out their soul gems and transformed without delay in a burst of color. Helen ran toward the wraiths, summoning her scythe to her hand with a flick of her wrist as she did.

Formation B was for when a large group of wraiths was far enough away from anyone who could get hurt that Helen could use her area attacks. It was up to Anna to use her teleportation to stay mobile and take out any wraiths that got past Helen. She didn't particularly like leaving Helen to do the bulk of the fighting, but she couldn't deny that it was a solid plan and that the older magical girl was much more effective at fighting large groups than her.

"Get back!" Anna hissed at Elsa, keeping one eye on the wraiths that Helen was blasting away with bolts of light. Her sister was too close to the battle for her liking even if she would be using her teleportation to take out the wraiths before they got close enough to threaten her.

Elsa took exactly two steps backward. Anna sighed. Why did her sister have to be so stubborn and unreasonable? She expected Anna to be cautious but had no care for her own safety.

Anna noticed a wraith begin to approach, having avoided Helen's attacks. Anna appeared next to it, striking it down with a thrust of her spear that struck dead center and passed through it, plunging into the ground below. The wraith disappeared with a puff of air and Anna wrenched the spear free.

The next few wraiths went down just as easily. Against lone opponents Anna's mobility made her nigh-untouchable. But as the battle wore on, Helen's blasts became smaller and weaker, and she was forced to rely on her scythe more instead.

_Are you okay?_ Anna asked frantically as she impaled another wraith.

_This group is too large and this attack uses too much magic. I'm sorry. It looks like I can't hold all of them off._

_Don't worry about it. I can handle it. Just be careful._

There was no reply, but Anna hoped she would listen. There was no point if they didn't all make it out alive.

A larger group of wraiths, over half a dozen this time, moved past Helen.

_Get back!_ Anna repeated to Elsa, not bothering to use normal speech.

This time her sister listened, shuffling backwards quickly, but dread still wormed at Anna's stomach. If she lost, Elsa wouldn't be able to get away in time and the people who lived in this area would be defenseless. And she knew her magic well enough by now to realize that it was already more than halfway depleted.

Anna tightened her grip on her spear and flashed forward, impaling the lead wraith and teleporting away before the others could attack her. She repeated the maneuver once more, but in larger groups the wraiths were able to use the same tactics that had stumped her in her first battle, using a minimal number of lasers to force her to teleport and bombarding her when she reappeared, leaving her no time to counterattack and forcing her to waste magic on frequent teleports.

Anna had no choice but to change her strategy, even if it was riskier. She stood her ground, relying on her instincts – or precognition, as Helen called it – to dodge the laser beams, instead throwing and teleporting her spear to kill the wraiths. It was more magically costly since her magic was designed to transport people, but this was the only way she could land hits. Her magical girl outfit was shredded where lasers glanced off of her, burning the skin underneath as she barely avoided them.

Only two wraiths were left when Anna ran out of magic. She glanced at her armband, alarmed. Her soul gem was almost completely black, with only a few motes of lavender light. There wasn't enough left for another teleport.

_Helen? I need some help. _She said, eyeing the wraiths nervously as they approached her.

There was no response. Helen was surrounded by wraiths, reduced to fighting them with her scythe, though her movements were slower than usual. Every bit of her concentration must have been focused on staying alive.

_You know, I can still ask Elsa to contract. _Kyubey said on a private channel.

_No. _

These days it seemed that Elsa was always looking after her, even against her wishes. Maybe it was her right, as the older sister. But just this once, Anna wanted to be the selfish one.

Anna raised her spear, no longer bothering with angling it to defend herself, instead focusing on speed and offence. The second wraith would hit her with its laser while she was dealing with the first no matter what she did. The only chance of success was an all-out attack.

Anna yelled and sprinted forward, gouging the earth with the strength of her steps.

* * *

The battle was not going well. They were going to die. Anna was going to die. Elsa realized this the moment Helen's attacks began to falter. But what could she do? There was no one to call for help. Should she use her magic? Did the benefits outweigh the risks, just this once?

Indecision gripped her and her thoughts were scrambled by a voiceless scream.

Her true nature was weakness. She was never strong enough, not strong enough to control her magic, not strong enough to choose, not strong enough to protect her sister.

Then Anna yelled and charged forward in what was obviously a suicide attack.

Elsa heard a voice cry out "No!" and she realized it was hers.

Everything was a blur. When the world made sense again, the first thing she noticed was that Anna was staring at her, a complete lack of understanding wrinkling her forehead, and so was Helen. Kyubey sat unblinking as though nothing was wrong.

The former battlefield was nothing but spikes and pillars of ice surrounded by grief cubes. Her gloves were covered in ice.

She'd failed.


End file.
